FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS
Troup teen finds her place on horseback
BY SUZANNE LOUDAMY Staff writer

Most teenage girls don't have a great deal of control over their lives. Sure, they get to pick what clothes they wear, how they style their hair and a few other very general areas under the reins. But for the most part, their parents, teachers and other adults in their lives dominate most everything else.

Control is just what Chassey Nicolls feels as she skillfully thunders into the rodeo arena atop 1,000 pounds of horse flesh and gracefully guides her mount through the cloverleaf pattern of three barrels and exits at breakneck speeds. Unbelievably, all of that is done in just barely over 17 seconds. More unbelievable is to watch this petite Troup High School freshman in action.

Since she was a small child, Chassey has been quite comfortable on the back of a horse. Her parents taught her to ride and to care for her horses. Her older brother Travis taught her to barrel race.

The sport of barrel racing is a rodeo event that combines excellent horsemanship on the part of the rider and outstanding athletic ability on the part of the horse.

Together they maneuver around three 55-gallon closedend barrels placed in a triangular pattern in the center of the arena as fast as they possibly can. There is no judging in the event; only the time on clock matters.

Chassey says her biggest challenge is remembering to look up and kick.

She must doing something right. Sunday, in Terrell, she and her horse Trump placed seventh out of 34 in barrels with a time of 17.03 seconds and 10th out of 30 in poles with a time of 22.923 seconds.

Chassey is a member of the Region 4 Texas High School Rodeo Association where she regularly competes with 42 girls in her age group. Currently her standings in Region 4 are number four in barrels with 15 points and number14 in poles with eight points.

Pole bending is an event where the mounted rider weaves through six poles set in a straight line. The rider gallops her horse past the poles, returning back through them in a weaving pattern. Horse and rider exit the site in a wide-open race for the clock.

This "not so typical" fresh- man girl loves the time she spends with her horses, Trump and Rascal. Not only are they ridden, but she grooms them, feeds them and takes care of all the necessary chores that come with a owning a horse.

Helping her out along the way is her younger brother Tyler. Tyler is in the fifth grade in Troup and already a veteran to the rodeo arena as a bull rider.

The region finals are in March of 2008 and Chassey's goal is to be a national qualifier.

Being a part of competitive rodeo sports is a family event and takes her family on the road almost every weekend.

Chassey smiles at her dad Troy and stepmom Glenna as she talks about the great time they spend together traveling to her rodeos. All of her family takes part.

"My mom Lisa Nicolls and my older brother Chance Nicolls are also real supportive and they are always there for me at the rodeos too," Chassey said.

There is not much "spare" time in Chassey's busy life. Keeping up with her school work is just as important as spending time training on her horse. To stay eligible in the THSRA, she must be passing all of her classes.

Just this past Saturday, Chassey and Glenna spent some "bonding time" in a deer stand just down the road from their house. Chassey got her first deer, a six-point buck.

She enjoys deer hunting, which may not put many check marks on her feminine side, but not to worry -- she also loves to hang out with her friends, shop and, of course, spend money.

"What girl doesn't?" Chassey said.

Chassey just came to Troup a year and a half ago. Making friends and fitting right in has not been a problem for this de- termined teen. Her favorite subject in school is Ms. Williams' equine science class.

Her dreams have her going to college to be an equine veterinarian and becoming a member of the Women's Professional Rodeo Association.

Shoot for the moon girl! You are never closer to the stars than on the back of horse.